The trio of vicious-looking monster girls proceeded to have a moment, to play with their super cool cloaks that were made of their own shadows.

It was odd. Calypso spread her arms out, in a bout of curiosity… For her arms to pierce through the cloak, like putting them through a waterfall. The flurry of darkness that she parted spilling over her arms, “stopping” at the biceps, acting as sleeves.

And after putting her arms away again, watching the cloak morph back to it’s natural, surging state… Calypso then thought about how to open it, moving her arm absentmindedly due to being deep in such. Immediately opening the cloak, showcasing her fierce body as the shadows hung off her shoulders. Fittingly, giving her the appearance of a Strokerian vampire.

“Obeys our thoughts…” Calypso pondered out aloud, so her cohorts can hear. “Very nice~”

“Just subtract sunlight,” the gnat joked, but quickly added, “—Y’know, direct light can weaken it—”

Gale was too busy giggling, swaying to herself as she played with her own cloak. Twirling on the tips of her toes as she danced on the broken desk.

“Now then...” the gnat looked down at her cloaked self. “What does ‘merge with the shadows as long as there’s shade’ means exactly…”

The rumbling that became enraged screams cut that thought off.

“Well let’s figure that out in the next five seconds or whatever--!” Gale shouted.

The walls slowly shuddered to life, the floor tensed before relaxing. And as Calypso predicted, the girls’ mount of trash immediately became food to the awakened room, crunching it with reckless abandon.

Of course, Calypso and the others jumped into the air. As they talked about, a perfectly normal next move…

But suddenly, the skeletal monster girl found herself being engulfed by the light—not the flickering lights—but light itself dimming around her.

Next thing that she knew, she was peering through this… Hazy, oval point of view of the room below her. As if looking through the view finders back home, the machines tourists use to insert coins to gaze the Statue of Liberty from afar… It would be disconcerting, but there was a calmness to this darkness. For the first time since she’s been tasked into fighting Cassie, Calypso has never felt so safe.

As Calypso wondered if she could look about, her POV shifted. It was odd but eventually she found out that she thinks, therefore she can move, which was harder than it sounds. At least one has the weight and feeling of neck movement to aid in steering sight, to anchor oneself, and there wasn’t that here. Never the less, she watched as the room finished it’s not so fine dining, with the hallways from afar still pulsating and rumbling with anger. Calypso felt like she was a CRT camera.

And if the weirdness wasn’t enough, she looked “towards” the ceiling, to find her cohorts hiding within the other corners of darkness that formed, occupying their own side. She couldn’t exactly make them out, but only their body shape and of course, the iris of their glowing eyes. The violet of Gale’s and the endlessly mirrored crimson of the gnat’s.

So of course, Gale waved as she clung to the wall—and the gnat give the world’s slowest thumbs up. Calypso had to withhold the chuckle that brewed in her throat.

Looking down, Calypso focused. Now that the room’s done with it’s very noisy meal, the skeletal monster girl was curious… What now? What happens now that the “entire” (and Calypso’s going out on a limb with this statement) hospital is alive? This certainly can’t be the norm, for the hidden Subsumed that they haven’t met yet. There was always a possibility—and Calypso couldn’t discount it or she truly learned nothing this far—but even for shadow skinwalkers of the night… It’s far too chaotic.

The girls could wait, as Calypso tried to figure out what to do next. But who knows if the cloaks can hide them this long, or when. Never mind the fact that she had to communicate this idea to the others, silently…

So Calypso looked towards the broken door, barely on its hinges… But mainly behind such a thing, to see it cast a shadow.

A hiding place.

The skeletal monster waved at her fellow hybrids, and then pointed at this door. Multiple times, arching her index…claw, back and forth. Thankfully, both nodded in agreement. With a nod of her own, Calypso looked down at the hungry floor, adjusting herself, and proceeded to jump down—preparing herself to sprint towards the shade while confusing the living building.

But it didn’t quite happen that way.

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Little did she realize, Calypso… Simply appeared within that shade behind the door. She blinked, trying to figure out if she blacked out or something, or there was a new, shitty aspect of this haunted environment making her lose memories…

Only to be startled out of that thought, as two streaks of thinning shadows shot by her. Manifesting into the shapes of Gale and the gnat. With equally wide “eyes” as well.

Calypso thought back, searching for an explanation that could possibly make sense…

Then it occurred to her: why it was so confusing in the first place. As long as there’s shadow or shade, as Calypso pondered… The cloaks will thrust the user into the nearest one.

Calypso raised her “thumb”, to signal she was okay. The others responded in kind.

She peered over the broken door, in the space the door created as it leaned forward. Looking into the hazy hallway, searching for the next dark spot.

It was a clear curve, of difficulty. Never mind the flickering lights, but the lights in the hallway coated the place entirely. Troubling.

All what was there, available, was the other dark rooms. Calypso supposed that it was literally better than nothing. Waving at the others, and then pointed to the nearest door. They nodded.

Calypso surged forward, manifesting in the dark of the next room. Waiting, and seeing Gale and the gnat catch up once more.

The trio zipped forward, continuing to surge within the shadows from door to adjacent door. Barring the wait times, observation. Being on alert before moving.

The halls were still alive, still rageful. So, whatever the effect doesn’t wane, or at least ceased after it consumed things. It was getting worrying for Calypso, her fangs locked together, tense. It didn’t help that these halls repeat, over and over, the mental mind-game adding it. They’re basically running in a circle.

So when the flapping of wings began to echo, to build, it made all players stand in place—hoping their cloaks really does hide them.

Calypso had to withhold her complete refusal at what she’s seeing.

What flew into their view, and ended up clinging to the walls… Was another Bat Subsumed. Nearly identical—might as well be identical. It chittered, huffed in amusement which was very… Eerily human.

It crawled about the walls, peering into the room that was across where the girls hid in plain sight. Only the shade masking them.

“T-toooold them…” the Bat Subsumed droned. “They had be… Eaten… Gobbled up…?”

It chitter-cackled. Amused at… Learning these human words?

It abruptly bangs its claws against the screaming walls, repeatedly.

“SHUT UP!” the Bat Subsumed screeched, the voice shining through the animal sound—as the two were layered. “You’re done…”

And on that command, the building began to shift, stutter, slow down. The transformation was gradual, but ultimately it was reverting back to the dank and damaged place.

The Bat Subsumed proceeded to slam onto the ground, getting on all fours.

Before stopping in its tracks.

“…Hm…”

The thing sniffed in the air… And then screeched into the air with its raised head, before stopping.

As it slowly turned its head towards the girls. Taking everything in with a pregnant pause.

“…Guess my… Imagination…”

Then it looked forward, began to flap and took off.

There was no time as any to go after it now.

Calypso felt like she was in some police movie, fanning her hand forward to signal to go after the Bat, as they all surged forward.

Darting across the plane, as the Bat Subsumed flew within the hallway, angling itself effortlessly. Navigating the endless pathway as if it knew the end of such.

And funnily enough, it did.

Slamming into a wall that suddenly appeared. A wide, crumbling yellowing wall that had a bolted door. A basement door.

With it’s claws, the Bat Subsumed pried the door open, despite having a handle, hurrying in. And with this opening, Calypso saw that the basement was virtually painted in black.

Perfect.

No second thoughts, they zipped into the darkness, despite the door quickly in the process of shutting itself.

Calypso couldn’t even hear the slam. All there was, ringing in her ears, was self-important chittering.

Multiple Bat Subsumed. A total crowd, celebrating, fighting, chattering in the darkness in this tight, concrete chamber. Some hanging from the walls, others chasing each other, but somehow they neatly formed and gathered themselves in a ring like formation.

As five of them in this center, steadily maiming a Subsumed. And the victim is enjoying it.

Judging by the various body parts and mass that were “bleeding” on the floor, this was once a… Deer of some sort. A stag. It’s antlers, it’s muzzle—everything that made it “him”, ripped away. Then sculpted.

Turning it into another Bat Subsumed. It was insane.

“WOOOOOOO!” one of the Bat Subsumed cheered. “PRAISE TERRORTIDE! WE WILL RISE TO A WORLD THAT’S FINALLY MADE FOR US~!”

Only for them all to cheer at once. It gave Calypso such a headache.

“OUR TERRORIZER WILL BE PLEASED TODAY!” another one screamed in joy. “AT THE AMOUNT OF FEAR TODAY—THEY TRIED TO STOP US?! HA! THEY’VE AIDED IN MAKING HER PLAN WORK BETTER!”

Another discordant round of screeches. Calypso had to remind herself to stay calm, to stay still. Her and the others were more or less at the end of the stairs. Once again, plain sight.

“AND BEFORE WE ENJOY OUR USUAL HAUL OF INVALIDS…” the Bat was cut off by their brethren’s laughter at that word.

That word struck fear into Calypso. She immediately knew what that meant.

She turned, slowly. All to see a pile of patients, humans… The coma patients. The really sick. The paralyzed for life.

The skeletal monster girl saw the boy she broke in that pile. The words of Mrs. Moses telling her that she was visiting him… “J. Baker”, on the near top. Eyes still shut and struggling to breathe.

Calypso had to fight, to not let the guilt destroy her there and then.

“…WE SHOULD CHECK ON OUR V.I.P. FIRST~!” the Bat finished, flying forward towards this wooden door that had a broken window that peer into the room.

Calypso wanted to see. Wanted to know what these cruel bastards are safeguarding… But they answered for her.

“MEELLLLISSSSSSSSSSA…” one Bat chittered.

“MELISSSAAAAAA…”

Chanting the name, over and over. Even the gnat looked at Calypso in surprise, Gale covered her mouth.

Melissa Harker, which was a murder they heard about days ago… Was alive.

And the object of worship of these bat monsters.